Hidden inside a Norwegian mountain, next to a cold fjord which supplies cooling water, Green Mountain is the world's most environmentally-friendly data center. It also sounds like it was built by hobbits.

Norway's latest data center is being built in two phases. But when it's finished it will provide over 118,000 square feet of space to ram full of servers.

Obviously all that tech creates a lots of heat, which is why it's been built next to a fjord, to keep things nice and cool. In fact, that fjord supplies water at a pretty much constant 8 degrees Celsius — apparently, about the ideal temperature for use in a center like this. How convenient.

In some ways, it's reminiscent of Facebook's new $700 million server farm, which has been built in the Arctic. But sucking enough electricity to power up to 40,000 American homes, Facebook's effort isn't quite as kind to the planet.

Though it's expected that Norwegian companies will fill much of the space, its owners also anticipate that European and US firms will sign up due to its green credentials. No word on whether its owners are actually hobbits, though, sadly. [Green Mountain via Slashdot]